I'm looking into upgrading my current lighting system and have narrowed my choices to one of these three ballast.

New system will be 250 watt SE and I'm looking at the XM10K, Reeflux12K, and the Aquaconnect14K for bulb choices.

Still on the fence trying to decide which reflector also but it will be either the LA III mini or Lumenbright mini. Tank is 29" deep with shallow sand but the problem I'm having is limited area above the tank to get the 16-18" required for LB (11-12" is the best I can manage).

an411

04/15/2008, 04:23 PM

I am running the LB minis on a ice cap ballast and I think that they are great. I hear ya on the height requirement but they are nice reflectors. I am running the reeflux 12k and am happy with the color

JRaquatics

04/15/2008, 04:38 PM

I really like My CoralVue ballast. But You really need to figure out which bulb you plan on running. Reflux bulbs always seem to run optimally on CoralVue ballast IMO. As far as reflectors go you are probably best off going with Lumenarc minis for your canopy height.

A sea K

04/15/2008, 06:18 PM

JRaquatics,
I understand the Reeflux bulbs are designed to run on the Coralvue ballast, but do you know if the CV drives any of the other bulb choices well?
I finished reading the thread on the lumenbrights today. I see you have a lot of firsthand knowledge with these reflectors.
If memory serves me you have yours at 18" on your 24" deep tank. Would I not get about the same spread at 11" on my 29" deep tank? Your tank bottom would be 42" from the bulb vs my 40". My tank is 72" long so I would have the same lateral spacing as you.
It seems I would attain the same spread as you across the bottom but don't know if I'll have dead spots higher up.